Ramiro Samaniego Inocencio was born in 1929 in Manila, Philippines. The son of an optometrist and a self-taught dressmaker, and the grandson of a Filipino revolutionary, he began to dream of coming to the United States while attending an American-run high school in the wake of World War II. After his father’s death in 1949, he worked to support his mother and younger siblings while earning his civil engineering degree from the Mapua Institute of Technology. In 1953, he traveled to the University College London to earn an additional degree in surveying. He spent his free time exploring the British Museum, marveling at Greek and Egyptian artifacts, eager to see the rest of the world and its wonders for himself.
His sense of adventure and his integrity were the guiding forces of his life. At an early age he vowed to be a devoted and faithful husband; once he married his wife, Nelinda, in 1957, they were together for nearly 63 years. Though the family first set up house in Manila, Ramiro was determined to resist the corruption that pervaded the city’s building industry at the time. His career led them first to Afghanistan, then to Nigeria, even as the latter country faced a civil war. In 1969, they seized a chance to join relatives in New York, squeezing all six of their children into a one-bedroom apartment in Queens while they waited for Ramiro to be authorized to work in the U.S.
Over the next 10 years, Ramiro worked as an estimator and a project manager and bought a house in the Long Island suburb of Dix Hills. But the state of New York didn’t recognize Ramiro’s engineering certification from the Philippines. The state of Arizona did, and in 1979, the family moved to the Phoenix area, where Ramiro had been offered a job. Soon afterwards, he gained U.S. citizenship. At last, he’d reached the goal he’d been working toward since high school: He was an American and a professional engineer.
After Ramiro retired in 1993, he continued to travel. With Nelinda, he visited Notre-Dame in Paris, toured the Alhambra in Granada, and cruised up the Alaskan coast. His final years were more sedentary, kept lively with games of Scrabble and mahjong and holidays when his sons and daughters would once again crowd into the house. He passed away at the age of 91 on July 8, 2020, with his wife and children around him, having accomplished everything that he set out to do. His life story, he had said a few months earlier, should be titled, “All About Love.”
Ramiro is preceded in death by his parents, Miguel Inocencio and Brigida Samaniego Inocencio; three sisters, Norma, Thelma, and Erlinda; and two brothers, Miguel Jr. and Ricardo. He is survived by his wife, Nelinda Domingo Inocencio; six children, Ramiro Jr., Roberto (Sharon), Maria (Mark), Melizza, Ronald, and Ranier (Mistilynn); seven grandchildren, Deanna (Grae), Rosa, Richard, Haylee, Chelsie (Timothy), Stacey (Briggs) and Matthew (Danielle); and six great-grandchildren, Kanoah, Kayden, Tyler, Ryan, Kinsley, and Corey.
To the family of Ramiro Samaniego Inocencio. Our hearts go out to you. What a dedicated loving husband and father, a great man that accomplished greatness in his life. He was surely a blessed man, and will be missed by many.
Sending love and prayers of comfort to you all as you rejoice in a long life well lived and loved while grieving and dealing with the hole in your hearts at his loss. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story. Dawn and Evan Smith (Mark’s brother and sister in law)